Diamond his best friend

UK-bound Cory Farris prefers game of baseball over football

BY CEDRIC BROWN | [email protected]

 

For Boone County's Cory Farris, the fun is over, and now it's time for some serious business.

For Farris, who rushed for almost 3,000 yards this past football season, this is his favorite time of the year.

"Baseball has always been my love," said Farris. "Football is just for fun."

 

Farris has committed to play for the University of Kentucky next season, but not in the sport in which he rushed for 2,824 yards and scored 32 touchdowns this season. Instead, Farris will be lacing up his spikes for the Wildcats' baseball team next spring, a decision that was easier to come to than some might think.

"Once UK started looking at me, I came to the decision that baseball is what I wanted to play. UK has always been a school I've wanted to go to," Farris said.

Farris will lead a Boone County team one year removed from a 4-0 shutout loss to Covington Catholic in the Ninth Region quarterfinals.

As a catcher who will also see time in the outfield, Farris finished last season with a .444 batting average, 45 RBI, 13 doubles and eight home runs. Farris also walked 36 times and stole 26 bases.

"Cory had a very good year last season. He is going to be our team leader," Boone County coach Matt Wilhoite said. "As he goes, we go."

The 2006 Northern Kentucky Region Player of the Year has set aside personal goals for this upcoming season. He wants only to win.

"First of all, I want to win districts," said Farris. "Then, my main goal is to win regionals. I want to get to state because that's one of the goals I haven't succeeded at yet."

Wilhoite, who has compiled 121 wins over eight seasons at Boone County, is looking to build on last season's 18-17 record. He knows pitching will be the key.

"We're going to have to find a No. 1 pitcher," Wilhoite said.

The Rebels are faced with the challenge of trying to replace Brad Krohman, who is now playing for St. Catharine College in Louisville. Krohman went 8-3 last season with a 1.97 ERA while striking out 74 batters over 60 innings. He also drove in 37 runs.

"Our pitchers have got to step up. That's all I can say," said Wilhoite. "We have to have some of our guys who didn't get a lot of innings last year, give us a lot of quality innings this year. We have better defense, and we have better team speed. The offense is there. It's all up to the pitching."

Boone County will depend on several other key players to carry the load.

Shortstop Mark Reed will be returning after compiling 51 hits and a .495 batting average last season. Reed, who won last season's Boone County Rebel-Man award, also had 40 RBI and five home runs. The Rebel-Man award is awarded to the hardest working player on the team.

"This year, I want 60 hits and 60 RBI," Reed said.

Second baseman Kevin Williams and third baseman Nick Houlehan are among the other seniors the Rebels will rely on. Houlehan will also pitch this season after going 4-3 last year.

Reed, along with Farris, is ready to do his part.

"I feel pretty confident that I can be a leader," said Reed, entering his third season starting varsity. "I get my confidence from the previous leaders before. I've learned a lot from them over the years."

Reed also feels confident in a possible postseason push for the Rebels this year.

"I know we can definitely get the region (title), but after that, we're going to take it one step at a time," said Reed. "We're not going to get too far ahead of ourselves, but I know we can do it.

First up for Boone is a visit to Newport Central Catholic at 5 p.m. March 26.

Boone has 2 of the top offensive players in NKY. Can they get any pitching?

Boone has 2 of the top offensive players in NKY. Can they get any pitching?

 

Big question mark for them right now. They will need a couple of ptichers that rise to the occason and surprise some people. Last year was a painful reminder for them that it is impossible to excel at the high school level with one primary pitcher.